Letter blank

ABSTRACT

A letter blank has leading and trailing edges (1 and 2) and side edges (3 and 4). The blank includes a central oblong rectangular letter section (108) and a marginal edge section (205), the latter being joined by perforations (216) and carrying adhesive areas (218, 219 and 220). The letter section (108) can be folded into four portions (212, 213, 214 and 215) by folding along crease lines (9, 10 and 11), forming its own envelope which can be secured by means of the adhesive areas. In the folded configuration the shorter portions (213 and 214) are fully enclosed between the longer portions(212 and 215).

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to blanks for handwritten, typed, printed and/orphotocopied letters.

BACKGROUND

There is currently a trend towards saving raw materials, andparticularly timber based products such as paper. Many letters andenvelopes are now available in recycled paper, but the present inventionis intended to produce a further saving in raw materials.

Existing Air Mail letter blanks which can be folded to form their ownenvelopes have the advantage that they save postage on the weight of anenvelope. Such airmail blanks are printed and cut to shape in themanufacturing process in huge quantities. Whilst this is economicalwhere large runs are concerned, this process is not suitable for smallerprint runs where the cost would be prohibitive. A blank of the standardair mail letter shape will not pass through the most commonly used formsof printing machine.

Reply cards which can be folded in two and secured by peripheraladhesive are also known, but these are limited in size. A standard A4letter embodying this principle would need to be made of heavy paper andwould be inconvenient to handle.

An object of the present invention may be viewed as being to provide aform of letter blank which is capable of being printed in smallquantities such as would be typical for letterheadings in the domesticand small business sectors, and which is both easy to use and results ina compact shape which is convenient for posting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes a letter blank which can be printed by anoffset litho process and having two pairs of opposed edges, the blankincluding a substantially rectangular letter portion and adhesivelycoated marginal portions, and the arrangement being such that the blankcan be folded to form its own envelope which can be secured by means ofthe marginal portions.

In one form of the letter blank the letter portion includes two mutuallyperpendicular folds which divide the letter portion into foursubstantially equal rectangular portions, and said marginal portionscomprise two adhesively coated flaps provided on mutually adjacent edgesof said blank.

In another form of the letter blank the marginal portions includeuser-removable portions which are defined by perforations such that,after printing, the said portions can be removed to leave at least twoadhesively coated flaps for use in securing the blank when folded toform its own envelope.

The term "user-removable" is intended to include removal by the printer,although in most instances it is envisaged that the removable portionswill be removed by the end user. The letter may more easily pass througha typewriter or the like if the removable portions are still in place.In addition, the term "perforation" is intended to cover holes of anyshape, including slits.

In a further form of the blank there is a row of perforations betweenthe marginal portions and the letter portion, and the blank includesthree folds which are substantially parallel to each other and to afirst pair of said opposed edges, said folds including a first folddisposed substantially mid-way between said first pair of edges, and twofurther folds, made in opposite directions to the first fold, disposedsubstantially equidistant either side of said first fold.

In each form of the letter blank it is preferred that:

a first pair of said edges includes a leading edge which is such that itcan stably abut a straight datum line, and an opposite trailing edge,

a second pair of said edges has:

(i) first mutually parallel straight edge portions which aresubstantially perpendicular to said datum line and extend towards theleading edge for at least 10mm from a point 35mm from the datum line,

(ii) second mutually parallel straight edge portions which aresubstantially perpendicular to said datum line, are at least 8mm long,and lie within 35mm of the trailing edge, and

(iii) at least one edge of said second pair having a third edge portionwhich is at least 35mm long and is substantially perpendicular to saiddatum line and extends between 90mm and 55mm from said leading edge.

A blank meeting these criteria has the advantage that it can be printedby certain litho print machines. The first and second edge portionsallow location by the front and rear adjustable paper guides in anoffset litho machine such as the Rotaprint 30/95, and the third edgeportion allows for engagement by the stroker which feeds the sheets intothe machine.

The trailing edge preferably includes a pair of straight, mutuallyaligned fourth edge portions which are each at least 30mm long, span atleast 100mm between their outer ends, and are substantially parallel tosaid datum line. These portions can be engaged by the weighted backstops of the machine. The two fourth edge portions may in practice beprovided by a single straight edge portion with is at least 100mm long.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is exemplified below with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 to 3 show plan views of three different forms of letter blank ofthe invention,

FIG. 4 is a front view of a fourth form of letter blank of theinvention,

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the letter blank of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the letter blank of FIGS. 4 and 5 in apartially folded configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The illustrated letter blanks are substantially rectangular having aleading edge 1, a parallel trailing edge 2 and a pair of longer parallelside edges 3 and 4. Each blank includes a central oblong rectangularletter portion 108 surrounded by various marginal edge portions,. asdescribed below. Although it could be of any other desired size, theblank will usually be of A4 size (i.e. about 297 mm by 210 mm).

In the blank of FIG. 1, the letter portion 108 can be folded into threeequal portions by folding along two crease lines 5 and 6 which areparallel with the leading edge 1. The letter portion 108 is joined to agummed marginal flap 7 which forms a straight leading edge 1 and is ofsuch a length that it can stably abut a straight edge. The side edges 3and 4 include two further gummed marginal flaps 8 and 9 located betweenthe leading edge 1 and the first crease line 5.

The blank of FIG. 2 has a straight leading edge 1 and the letter portion108 can be folded into four equal portions along two mutuallyperpendicular crease lines 10 and 11. The trailing edge 2 includes agummed marginal flap 12 located between crease line 11 and side edge 3,and the side edge 3 has a further gummed marginal flap 13 locatedbetween the crease line 10 and the trailing edge 2.

The blanks can thus be folded along the respective crease lines to formtheir own envelopes which can be secured by moistening the gummed flaps.

In both forms of the blank described above the flaps could be separatedfrom the letter portion 108 by a row of perforations to facilitateopening of the letter.

The blank of FIG. 3 again has a straight leading edge 1 and includesmarginal portions 105, 106 and 107 which extend along the side, trailingand side edges 3, 2 and 4 respectively. The letter portion 108 isprovided with two crease lines 5 and 6 which extend parallel with thetop edge 1 and divide the letter portion into three portions 111, 112and 113, the bottom two portions 112 and 113.

The bottom margin 106 forms a central flap 114 which is joined to theletter portion 108 by a row of perforations 117. The length of the flap114 is slightly less than the width of the letter portion 108.

The side margins 105 and 107 include further flaps 120 and 121 anduser-removable side portions 122 and 123. The flaps 120 and 121 areseparated from the side portions 122 and 123 by notches 126 and 127.These side flaps 120 and 121 are joined to the bottom third 113 of theletter portion 108 by perforations 128 and 129. The removable portions122 and 123 are each joined to the top and middle thirds 111 and 112 ofthe letter portion 108 by a row of perforations or slits 130, 131respectively.

The flaps 114, 120 and 121 are each provided with a layer of adhesive.

The blanks can be fed through most typewriters or printers used withword processors. The user can then remove the side portions 122 and 123,which are easily separated from the letter portion 108. Longer slitsoffer less resistance to removal than perforations in the form ofcircular holes or shorter slits so that it is preferred for theuser-removable portions 122 and 123 to be secured to the letter portion108 predominantly by longer slits whereas the flaps 114, 120 and 121will be secured to the letter portion predominantly by holes or slits ofmuch shorter length.

The letter portion 108 can be folded along the crease lines 5 and 6 toform its own envelope, which can be secured by moistening the gummedflaps 114, 120 and 121 and folding them along the perforations 117, 128and 129 so that the flaps adhere to the letter portion 108.

When the letter is required to be opened the perforations 117, 128 and129 allow easy separation of the flaps from the letter portion 108.

It will be appreciated that the shape and position of the flaps and thearrangement of the slits and/or perforations described above is purelyillustrative. The same principle could be used with any form of letterwhich can be folded to form its own envelope which can be secured by twoor more flaps. For example, the letter portion 8 could be divided intofour substantially equal square or oblong rectangular portions by twomutually perpendicular creases, and two adjacent edges of the letterportion are provided with two flaps for securing the letter as its ownenvelope.

In each of the blanks of FIGS. 1 to 3 the flaps and the correspondingareas of the letter portion could be coated with pressure-sensitive orother adhesives.

The blank of FIGS. 4 to 6 has a straight leading edge 1 and includes acontinuous marginal edge portion 205 which completely surrounds theletter portion 108. The blank is provided with three crease lines 209,210 and 211, which extend parallel with the top edge 1 and divide theblank into four portions 212-215, the top and bottom portions 212 and215 being of equal size and the two centre portions 213 and 214 being ofequal size but shorter than the other two. The centre crease 210 is madein the opposite direction to the other two creases 209 and 211 so thatwhen the blank is folded as shown in FIG. 6, the two middle portions 213and 214 are sandwiched between the top and bottom portions 212 and 215in the manner of a W. The front surface of the blank is thus completelyenclosed.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the edge portion 205 is joined to the letterportion 108 by a row of perforations 216. On the front surface of theblank the edge portion 205 is provided with areas 218 of pressuresensitive adhesive. The front adhesive layer 218 is arranged in twoareas around the top and bottom portions 212 and 215 of the blank suchas to adhere them together when the blank is folded as shown in FIG. 6.On the opposite rear surface of the blank (FIG. 5) the edge portion 205bordering both sides of the centre regions 213 and 214 is provided withtwo further layers 219 and 220 of pressure sensitive adhesive. Theselayers 219 and 220 are arranged so as to adhere together the two centreportions 213 and 214 when the blank is folded. Since the adhesive areas218, 219 and 220 adhere only to themselves, not to the paper, similarletter blanks can be stacked without adhering to each other.

Again, the blank can be fed through most typewriters or printers. Theuser can then fold the blank along the crease lines 29, 210 and 211 toform its own envelope, which is secured by the adhesive layers.

Instead of using pressure-sensitive adhesive the edge portion 205 couldbe coated with various adhesives including water-soluble adhesive.

When the letter is required to be opened the perforations 216 allow easyseparation of the adhesively secured edge portion 205 from the letterportion 108, which can then be opened out and read as a normal letter.

It will be appreciated that the position of the adhesive areas 218 to220 could be varied. For example, the entire front surface of the edgeportion 205 could be adhesively coated.

In each of the above-described embodiments, it will be noted that if theletter is sent through the post the rear of the letter will be datefranked, thereby providing a useful permanent record of the postingdate.

In each form of blank described above, the side edges 3 and 4 have thefollowing:

(i) First mutually parallel straight edge portions 14 and 15 which aresubstantially perpendicular to the leading edge 1 and extend towards theleading edge for at least 10mm from a point 35mm from the leading edge.

(ii) Second mutually parallel straight edge portions 16 and 17 which aresubstantially perpendicular to the leading edge, are at least 8mm long,and lie within 35mm of the trailing edge 2.

(iii) A third edge portion 18 of the edge 4 which is at least 35mm longland is substantially perpendicular to the leading edge 1 and extendsbetween 90mm and 55mm from the leading edge.

In addition, the trailing edge includes a pair of straight, mutuallyaligned fourth edge portions 19 and 20 which are each at least 30mmlong, are separated by 40mm, and are substantially parallel to theleading edge 1.

The first and second edge portions 14, 15 and 16, 17 permit location ofthe blank by the front and rear adjustable paper guides in an offsetlitho machine such as the Rotaprint 30/95. The third edge portion 18 canbe engaged by the stroker which feeds the sheets into the machine. Thefourth edge portions 19 and 20 are engaged by the weighted back stops ofthe machine.

The blanks can thus be printed on by most, if not all, of the commonlyused forms of offset litho printing machine.

Although the blanks of FIG. 3 will normally be printed with the flaps114, 120 and 121 at the bottom of the letter they could also be printedwith the flaps at the top.

It will also be appreciated that although the blanks have been shown asseparate sheets they could also be joined at the leading and trailingedges 1 and 2 to form continuous stationery.

Having thus described the invention What is claimed is:
 1. A letterblank having front and rear faces, said blank comprising:a substantiallyrectangular letter section having opposite sides with first opposededges, and opposite ends with second opposed edges perpendicular to saidfirst edges; and at least a first pair of marginal edge strips ofsubstantially constant width extending continuously, from end to endalong said first pair of opposed edges of said letter section, said edgestrips being joined to said letter section by respective rows ofperforations enabling said edge strips to be torn away from said lettersection; said letter blank including three mutually parallel creaselines which extend from side to side, parallel to said second pair ofedges, to divide said blank into a top portion, a bottom portion, andtwo middle portions, said top and bottom portions being substantiallyidentical to one another in size, and said two middle portions beingsubstantially identical to one another in size, said middle portionbeing of the same width as said top and bottom portions and beingsubstantially shorter, from end to end, than said top and bottomportions such that, when said letter blank is fan folded on said creaselines, with said top and bottom portions opposed and said middleportions disposed therebetween, said top and bottom portions completelyenclose said middle portions and extend substantially beyond said middleportions to partially overlie each other directly; each of said marginaledge strips being provided with at least one adhesively coated area onsaid front face of said blank along at least one of said top and bottomportions, for securing the opposed top and bottom portions together, andeach of said marginal edge strips being provided with at least oneadhesively coated area on said rear face of said blank along at leastone of said middle portions, for securing said two middle portionstogether, whereby contacting portions of said edge strips can be securedto one another with said blank fan folded, and whereby said edge stripscan be torn away to thereby enable said letter section to be fullyopened into a flat, rectangular sheet.